Needle threader



NOV. 21, 1950 J, HlCKEY 2,530,768

, NEEDLE THREADER Find Sept. 26, 1949 2 Sheets Sheet 1 INVENTOR c/AMES Hem 5y A ORNEY J. HICKEY NEEDLE THREADER Nov. 21, 1950 Filed Sept. 26, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTO R J4Ms H/C/(EY ATTO RN EY Fig.5.

Patented Nov. 21, 1950 James Hickey, Portland, Oreg.

Application September 26, 1949, Serial No. 117,761

Claims. (Cl. 112-225) This invention relates general to needle threaders for sewing machines, and, more specifically, to needle threading attachments which, if desired, can be permanently mounted on the sewing machine head and moved down into threading position when needed and then moved back into normal, out-of-the-way position when no longer needed.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved needle threader of the type above indicated which will be simple and practical to use.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved needle threading attachment for sewing machines which attachment, to a considerable extent, will be automatic in its operation, thus requiring less effort and attention on the part of the operator.

A further and particular object of this invention is to provide a needle threading attachment having improved guiding and positioning means to enable the attachment to function with more certainty and efficiency while enabling the operator'to thread the sewing machine needle with a minimum of delay and annoyance.

These objects and other incidental advantages I attain by constructing my improved needle threading attachment as hereinafter briefly de-' scribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of my device showing the same in operative position on a sewing machine and illustrating the first stage of the needlethreading operation; H

Fig. 2'is a similar elevation illustrating a second stage of the needle-threading operation, a portion of the device being shown in section in this figure for the sake of further clarity;

Fig. 3 is a further corresponding elevation showing the needle threader in normal out-ofthe-way position at the conclusion of the needle threading operation; I

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the needle threading attachment as viewed from the left in Fig. 1 but showing the attachment by itself entirely removed from the sewing machine;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the lower portion of the attachment shown in Fig. 4 and also vshowing part of the sewing machine needle infront of the attachment in order to illustrate the positioning as well as operation of the same more fully;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal or plansection through the attachment and needle taken on line 6--5 of Fi 5;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged perspective view of a side plate of the attachment; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevation, corresponding in part to Fig. l, but illustrating an optional manner in which the needle threading operation can be performed.

The upper portion of the needle threader attachment includes a bracket Iii, which is prefer ably U-shaped in cross section and which is secured in vertical position on the machine head Ii by suitable screws substantially in the location shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the bracket It being arranged close to and in parallel alignment with the reciprocating carrier l2 to which the sewing machine needle I9 is secured.

The main body member of the needle threader attachment consists of an arm 13 having an integral U-shaped head I4, which is of proper size to fit inside the U-shaped bracket it, and having an oil-set bottom section It (as shown in Fig. i). The U-shaped head I4 of the main body member is hinged to the lower portion of the bracket it as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and l. A snapover spring It, Figs. 2, 3 and 4, has its upper end attached to the top of the bracket It and its lower end attached to a bar I"! extending across the U-shaped head I4 of the main body member 13.

The off-set bottom section I5 of the main body member I3 has a bottom corner It which projects forwardly towards the sewing machine needle I9, when the needle threader is in operative position, and which corner portion is flared laterally slightly as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 so as to enable this portion to slide easily a short distance over one side of a. sewing machine needle when the needle threader attachment is brought into contact with the needle.

A side plate 20, of special formation, is attached to the lower portion of the bottom section I5 of the main body member l3 by means of a screw 2|. The shape of this plate is shown most clearly in Fig. 7. Horizontal cuts are made in. the upper portion of the vertical front edge of the plate 20 so as to form three tongues. The upper one of these tongues 22 is folded back on itself after forming a socket 23 in which the upper end of a thin wire 24 is adapted to be firmly held. The next tongue 25 is given a double curve, as shown in Fig. '7, with the outer end flared laterally, and this flared outer end is so arranged as to slide a short distance over one side of the sewing machine needle, namely, the opposite side of the needle from that over which the flared corner I8 slides as previously described. Thus this forward or outer end of the tongue 25, together with the oppositely flared corner It, form a guideway to guide the needle threading attachment into proper position against the needle when the threading operation is to take place.

The lower tongue 26 of the plate 28, as shown in Fig. 7, is bent back to form a narrow elongated loop, and the thin wire 24 extends down through the loop without being held rigidly by the loop. The front portion of the plate 28 below the 3 tongue 23 is cut away to leave avertical edge 21 in substantial vertical alignment with the outer curved edges of the tongues 22 and 28.

The thin wire 25 as it leaves the bottom edge of the loop formed by the tongue 26 is bent at.

right angles so as to extend forwardly a slight distance and terminates in a tiny downwardly extending curve or hook 28 a short distance in front of the plate 29. The wire 2 3 and its hooked-.. end 28 are small enough so that the hook 28 will readily pass through the eye of the needle [9 i when the needle is in its extreme raised position at the top of the stroke of the needle carrier and 33 andthus. in turn permit the attachment, under when the needle threading attachment is in the operating position as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Abovethesideplate Zita guiding shield 29..v is pivotally mounted .on :the.section .15 of the main body member 13. bymeans of. screw 30. (Figs. 1 and-2).. A small. tongue3l', punched from the section: 15 engages. a short slot.32 .cut out from the guiding shield 29 andthus limits the pivotal. movement of the guidingshield29. with respect,

tothe main body member.

The guiding shield. 29 .has a top flange 33 which slopes downwardly and. forwardly. toward the sewing-machine needle when the needle threading attachment is in. operatingposition, and the lower end of the flange33ls turned downwardly asshown at 34 in Figs. 1 and 2, and is adapted to bearagainst the sewing machine needle 19 at and during the starting of theneedle threading.

operation.

When. the sewin machine. needle is. to be.

threaded, the needle is held at. itsextreme raised position and the needle threading attachment is swung .down from the normal outeofetheeway position of Fig. 3 to the operating position of Fig. 1. If the sewing machine needle I9 isin its extreme raised positionthe hooked end. 28. of the thin. wire will then .pass through the eyev of theneedle, the oppositely. flaredguides l8 and 25. serving to direct. .the attachment, and therewith the hooked end 28, against the needle. .When the wire hook 28 passes through the eye of the needle the lower end 34 of the flange. 33. of the guiding shield2i will be resting against the. nee-.

dle as shown in Fig. 1.

When the hook 23. has. been brought through the eye of the needle [9' the operator causes the thread 35 to catch on the hook as illustrated in Fig; "1. to cause. the needle carrier l2 and'the needle l9 to move downwardly. As the needle carrier l2 moves down, the needle holding screw 36 of the carrier engages the upper portion of=the flange This first results in the guiding shield 29 being tilted on the mount'-' 33 of the guiding shield 29.

ing screw 30 in clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 1) to the extent permitted by the tongue 3| in the slot 32. This causes the lower end 34- of the flange 33 to push against the needle 19 while the wire hook 28, with the thread attached, is being pulled through the eye of the needle. This pressure in an opposite direction against theneedle aids in holding the needle steady and prevents any strain on the needle or any tendency for the needle to be pulled laterally while the hook 28 and attached thread are being drawn through the eye of the needle. This is an impor-.

tant feature of my invention. As the screw 36- moves further downwardly along the flange 33 and the guiding shield 29 is pivoted back to" its original position the downward movement of the screw 36 then pushes the needle-threading attachment directly to the right (as viewed in Then the sewing machine is operated.

the pull of the snap-over spring I6, to move to the left into needle engaging position until finally the hook 28 passes through the eye of the needlel9.

Shouldthe hook 28. come intocontact with the needle before the needle israisedhigh enough to enablethe hooktopassthrough the eye of theneedle thehook 28 and adjacent portion of the. thin wire 24 willnotbent out. of shape becausev the wire. 24, being more orless. springy, will temporarily be pushed back in..the loop formed by the tongue. 26.. (see Fig. 7).whi1e the upper end of the wire is held inithe socket 23.

It. may happen that the operator wishes to thread the needlewwithoutlowering. the needle. Instead of manually swinging the needle threading attachment to the;raised. position of Fig. 3

-immediately the operator, by exerting. a slight finger pressure on the'upperzendof the flange 33 of the guiding shield 29 (Figs, 1 and 8), can cause the guiding shield 29 to tilt on the pivotal mounting provided by-thescrew 30. from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that. shown in Fig. 8. This tilting of the guiding shield 29 will cause the attachment to be-pushed -fromrthe position of Fig. ,1 to that. of Fig.8 and thus cause the hook 28 to pull the threadthrough: the eyeof the nee- .dle without loweringtheneedle. At the same time the pressure of: thelower end 34 of the flange. 33 against the needle. l9, as previously mentioned, will act to hold. the needle steady against any lateral pull whilei-thehook 28 and thread are drawn through the eyeof the needle.

When the operator hasmoved the-needle threading attachment into-such position by downward pressure of the finger on the-upper-endof the flange 33, and has verified that the hook 28 has passed out. of the eye of'the' needleiand has pulled the thread loop throughthe eye the operator can then cause. the threading attachment to swing up into the inoperativeposition. However, if for any reason, the-threadmay have slipped 01f the hook before being pulled through the eye of the needle, the operator, byreleasing the finger pressure on thenpper endolithe flange 33, will enable the hook tomove-back throughthe needle eye again in position for further engagement with the thread.

I claim:

1. In a needle threading attachment of the character described for a sewing-machine, a sup port adapted to be secured to the sewing machine head, a main arm hingedlyconnected with said support, a side plate attached to the lower portion of said mainarrma thin, resilient, wire-like element, the outer end'of'said element extending forwardly from said plate and terminating in a thread-engageable hook adapted to pass through the eye of the needle'a socket'for securing the otherend of said'element on:said" plate, a guideway for said element on'said'plate between said socketcand. said forwardly-extending outer end, said guideway permitting.limited-movement of said outer end inwardly on said late, and a guiding shield mounted on said main arm above said side plate, said guiding shield having a cam-like surface arranged so as to be engaged by a member movable simultaneously with the needle when the needle moves downwardly from raised position, whereby to cause said guiding shield, and therewith said needle threading attachment, to be moved away from said needle.

2. In a needle threading attachment of the character described for a sewing machine, a support adapted to be secured to the sewing machine head, a main arm hingedly connected with said support, spring means engaging said main arm, a side plate attached to the lower portion of said main arm, a thin, resilient, wire-like element, the outer end of said element extending forwardly from said plate and terminating in a thread-engageable hook adapted to pass through the eye of the needle, means for securing the other end of said element on said plate, and a guiding shield mounted on said main arm above said side plate, said guiding shield having a top flange sloping forwardly and downwardly arranged so as to be engaged by the screw on the needle carrier when the needle moves downwardly from raised position, whereby to cause said guiding shield, and therewith said needle threading attachment to be moved away from said needle.

3. In a needle threading attachment of the character described for a sewing machine, a bracket adapted to be secured to the sewing machine head, a main arm hingedly connected with said bracket, a snap-over spring having its ends connected with said main arm and said bracket respectively, a side plate attached to the lower portion of said main arm, a thin, resilient, wirelike element mounted on said plate, the outer end of said element extending forwardly from said plate and terminating in a thread-engageable hook adapted to pass through the eye of the needle, and a guiding shield pivotally mounted on said main arm above said side plate for limited movement in a vertical plane with respect to said arm, said guiding shield having a top flange sloping forwardly and downwardly arranged so as to be engaged by the screw on the needle carrier when the needle moves downwardly from raised position, whereby to cause said guiding shield, and therewith said needle threading attachment, to be moved away from said needle, the lower portion of said top flange adapted to bear against said needle when said attachment is in needlethreading position, whereby pivotal movement of said guiding shield caused by down pressure on the upper end of said top flange will act to brace the needle against lateral movement while causing said attachment to be pushed away from said needle and said hook to be pulled through the eye of the needle.

4. In a needle threading attachment of the character described for a sewing machine, a support adapted to be secured to the sewing machine head, a main arm hingedly connected with said support, spring means engaging said main arm, a side plate attached to the lower portion of said main arm, flared guides on said main arm and said plate adapted to engage and move over opposite sides of the sewing machine needle respectively, a thin, resilient, wire-like element, the outer end of said element extending forwardly from said plate and terminating in a thread-engageable hook adapted to pass through the eye of the needle, means for securing the other end of said element on said plate, and a guiding shield pivotally mounted on said main arm above said side plate for limited movement in a vertical plane with respect to said arm, said guiding shield having a cam-like surface arranged so as to be engaged by a member movable simultaneously with the needle when the needle moves downwardly from raised position, whereby to cause said guiding shield, and therewith said needle threading attachment to be moved away from said needle, the lower portion of said cam-like surface adapted to bear against said needle when said attachment is in needle-threading position, whereby pivotal movement of said guiding shield caused by down pressure on the upper end of said cam-like surface will act to brace the needle against lateral movement while causing said attachment to be pushed awa from said needle and said hook to be pulled through the eye of the needle, and continued engagement of said camlike surface by said member as said needle moves downwardly wil1 cause further movement of said threading attachment into out-of-the-way position.

5. A needle threading attachment for a sewing machine including a bracket adapted to be secured to the sewing machine head, a main arm hingedly connected with said bracket, a snapover spring having its ends connected with said main arm and said bracket respectively, a side plate attached to the lower portion of said main arm, flared guides on said main arm and said plate adapted to engage and move over opposite sides of the sewing machine needle respectively, a thin, resilient, wire-like element, the outer end of said element extending forwardly from said plate and terminating in a thread-engageable hook adapted to pass through the eye of the needle, a socket for securing the other end of said element on said plate, a guidewa for said element on said plate between said socket and said forwardly-extending outer end, said guideway permitting limited movement of said outer end inwardly on said plate, and a guiding shield pivotally mounted on said main arm above said side plate for limited movement in a vertical plane with respect to said arm, said guiding shield having a top flange sloping forwardly and downwardly arranged so as to be engaged by the screw on the needle carrier when the needle moves downwardly from raised position, whereby to cause said guiding shield, and therewith said needle threading attachment, to be moved away from said needle, the lower portion of said top flange adapted to bear against said needle when said attachment is in needle-threading position, whereby pivotal movement of said guiding shield caused by down pressure on the upper end of said top flange will act to brace the needle against lateral movement while causing said attachment to be pushed away from said needle and said hook to be pulled through the eye of the needle, and continued engagement of said top flange by said screw as said needle moves downwardly will cause further movement of said attachment into out-of-the-way position.

JAMES HICKEY.

No references cited. 

